10 Things I won't miss about Japan

In the beginning of February my semester at Kyoto University officially finished. I don't know much about my results but don't worry about them either, it's all good. Then I had just a little bit of time and even less money left to travel around and such until last week, when it was time to really leave Japan. Boo, sad times ahead 'cause I've really grown to love the place and the people, and felt super comfortable and at ease and happy everywhere I went.

Now I'm in Southern California for about 6 weeks and it gives me time and space for reflection. And I've come to the conclusion there is a whole lot I will be missing about Japan, but there is also stuff I won't miss. I feel like a lot of people have put Japan on such a pedestal, so let's start today with the things I think that suck. The things that annoyed me. The things I might even hate by now. The things I definitely won't miss.
And then come back tomorrow for the good and positive stuff, alright?

1) Feeling stupid because of the language barrier I have nobody to blame for this but myself, but it's still annoying as hell. Especially in the beginning when I couldn't read or understand anything, it was pretty overwhelming. Imagine just walking around in streets where you don't understand any of the signs. Or going in stores where you don't even understand what they are selling. Constantly feeling rude and stupid because people keep talking Japanese to you even when it is obvious you don't understand.

2) How technically behind it is
Behind? This must be a mistake, right? Japan is one of the most technically advanced countries ever, right? WRONG. Or, right, I guess, but there are still parts of society that surprisingly lag behind. Maybe I had my expectations set too high, but there were no robots serving me anywhere and flying cars were nowhere to be seen. (Free) WiFi isn't a standard for either public or private use -I had only LAN in my room- and power outlets seem scarce. E-banking was no option and I had to pay my bills in person at the bank. The common use of flip phones also seems very old school and even the use of fax machines is ubiquitous. Seriously, I have lived for 24 years and I feel like fax machines were even before my time.

super high-tech..right?

3) The slow pace of walking
I know, this sounds silly.. but GODDAMN do Japanese people walk slow. You better not be in a hurry to get anywhere if you're accompanied by people.

4) Women's roles and representations Let me get all annoying, feminist, serious business in your face. Because it remains a fact that Japan continues to be among the lowest ranked developed countries when it comes to gender equality. Women in Japan are among the least represented in leadership positions and suffer from one of the biggest wage gaps in the developed world; meaning that women in full time jobs earn on average below 70% of what full time working men earn. They also make up for a big part -74%- of the nation's poor (x). And then besides that shitty situation, there are all the white men with 'yellow fever' flocking to Japan.... yuck. Blatantly holding up harmful stereotypical ideas and objectifying, exotifying and fetishizing the shit out Japanese / Asian women; completely ignorant on how that is NOT a compliment and how it is actually racist as hell.

5) Most foods
Yes, I am culinarily blasphemous for not digging Japanese foods that much. But if you're not down with fish, seafood and most meats, there is whoooole lot you're not gonna like when you're in Japan. My dislike includes the food/fish markets that are everywhere and the supermarkets whose half of the store consists of fish and seafood. Also, to people who say 'only bad fish smells bad' and 'all fish in Japan is sooo fresh, it doesn't smell!'; lies, I tell you, LIES.

fishy eh

6) The Cold It's a weird thing. Temperature wise the winters seem to get colder in Holland than in Japan, but it sure as hell felt a lot colder in Japan. Most houses are ridiculously cold due to complete lack of isolation and the expensive air conditioning can only do so much. It might play a role that I'm not good at dressing for the cold; I did not bring one actual pair of pants with me.

7) "One size fits all"

Uhu. Yes. Except, no. Sizing must be a little hard for most people that don't conform to Japanese body standards, but in general it's been fine for me. Except whenever they make things One Size Fits All. This seem to happen with a lot of my favorite things to wear: tights and socks and such. My thighs and ass do not agree with this concept, resulting in a bunch of tights I could only wear once before they ripped in awkward places. Grrrr.

8) The treatment of animals
Animals are used as cute accessories in a lot of advertising in Japan and everybody seems to just luvvv animals. But then I've also seen a lot of pet stores and little zoos where the animals lived in horrible conditions. Tiny cages, animals that look malnourished, animals with obvious skin problems, animals that look wayyy too young to be taken away from their mother, exotic animals that did not receive the specific care they need.. I don't think you should even sell animals at pet stores at all but if you do, at least treat them right. And don't even get me started on Japan's whaling and dolphin killing policies.

Meh. Don't buy doggies at pet stores

9) Rules. Rules. More Rules. Maybe my morals seem questionable when you read this, but I hated how many rules there were for everything and how good they were with following these rules. No jaywalking even when there is no traffic. Not changing from your assigned seat even when the whole bus is close to empty. No missing classes even when the teacher is bad. No exceptions possible whenever you ask for one. But this little anecdote will show how annoying it gets: When I booked the hostel at mt.Fuji, they offered a pick up service for when you arrive at the station. I called 5 mins ahead and they refused to make a pick up reservation; I wasn't at the station yet. I explained I was almost there, I could see the station already and would be there in, by now, 3 mins. Nope. Had to call 3 mins later again and by then they were happy to come pick me up. -___-. Y u no flexible? 10) The stigma around tattoos
Not that there is no stigma around tattoos in Holland (good luck finding a job with visible tattoos), but here in Japan they are even more obvious with it. Tattoos are still associated with the yakuza, Japanese mafia, who often don (super cool) full body tattoos. Even if I am obviously not part of yakuza and have no traditional Japanese tattoos, I will still be denied to public bathhouses for example. When it was still warm enough to wear shorts and t shirts, people would seriously move away from me on public transport as soon as they got a chance; this changed when I covered up more. Just seems a little backwards.

Traditional full body tattoo

Alright.. so far my rant. Luckily there were a lot more things I digged, liked, loved.. you can read them here tomorrow!